Leather and Gems
by deanee-express
Summary: Dean always said that gems were even more beautiful when you snatched them without anybody's consent... until he found one that refused to be stolen. (AU setting.)
1. Chapter 1

_This isn't going exactly as planned_ , Dean thought as he was running away from the jewelry store, clutching a small linen bag to his chest and trying to avoid the street lights. It was only a matter of time before the cops would come and it was time for plan B.

He ran about half a mile before he turned left and passed through a dark alleyway, rushing towards the parking lot of a nearby Wal-Mart. Isolated cars, far from other vehicles in the area, caught his attention first. He sneaked up to the nearest one, a blue Chevy pickup, holding onto his gun and ready to pull it out of the holster at any time. There was nobody inside, but the car looked fairly new and he didn't want to risk putting off the alarm. He sprinted towards his next target, a gray Volvo SUV, and peeked through the back window, only to see a small boy sitting on the backseat and playing something on his Nintendo 3DS. "Fuck", Dean muttered to himself and stood up to his full height, desperately looking around the parking lot.

An ideal opportunity struck almost immediately. Adrenaline rushed through his body as his eyes fixated on the person just coming out of the store. He hid behind the SUV and watched the young blonde woman with one bag in each hand approaching her car. He tiptoed between vehicles, sneaking up to her and stuffing the jewelry-filled linen bag in the large inside pocket of his leather jacket, sewed on by himself. She was already opening the rear passenger door and putting the bags on the backseat of her crappy old Ford Fiesta. It was the perfect moment.

He ran up to her from behind and covered her mouth with one hand while pressing the gun on her lower stomach, where neither the leather jacket nor the crop top that she was wearing was covering her skin. "That thing you're feeling on your stomach right now is a gun. Just do what I tell you and don't scream, and everything's gonna be alright." His heart was thumping fast and the adrenaline rush was making him feel a bit dizzy, but the size difference between him and this little blonde boosted his confidence. "Got it?"

She nodded and raised her hand towards her face, making Dean even more nervous, but she just tapped his hand, as if telling him to remove it from her mouth. And when he did, the tired tone of her voice surprised him. "I don't have any money here. I just spent everything I had with me."

Dean noticed shadows of two people who were passing by and quickly opened the door of the car, pushing the girl inside and ripping off the black mask from his face, damp with sweat. "Quiet", he warned her, observing the pair from the corner of his eye. They didn't seem to pay attention to him, which relieved him. When they got out of his sight, he focused on the girl again. "I don't need your money. I need your car."

The half-offended, half-disbelieving look that he got from her took him aback once again. "If you have to steal, go steal from someone richer than me. Like the owner of that Mercedes over there."

"I don't have time to play Robin Hood now. Give me your car keys and I'll let you go."

That earned him a look full of fiery anger. "Fuck you! I bought this piece of crap after two years of saving up. I'm not giving it to _anybody_. I don't care that you're some asshole with a gun."

Dean felt a twinge of sympathy towards the girl, mixed with a drop of astonishment. It wasn't hard to believe her words, and he had to admit that she had guts. He wanted to tell her that he would let her get her car back later, but there was simply no time to waste. He needed to get away from this part of the city as soon as possible. "Fine. You're driving then."

He was just about to ask her for her keys when she tried closing the door in his face. He caught the handle before she could slam it and pulled the door towards him, her suddenly scared face greeting him from the inside of the car. His gun immediately touched her temple. He felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. He had a loaded gun in his hand and this ballsy blondie was making the rules. She underestimated him, and he didn't like that at all.

"I don't wanna hurt you, and I can be very nice if I want to, but I don't like playing games", he said in a menacing tone. "So stop wasting my time and don't force me into doing something I don't want to. Got it?"

The girl nodded, gulping. "Very well", Dean said. "Now hand me the keys of the car. _Good_. When I close your door, you will lock it from the inside and wait until I sit next to you. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good." He closed her door and quickly got to the passenger door, slumping into the seat and handing her the keys. "Do you know the way to Red Rock?"

"I do."

"Great. Let's go there then."

She still seemed a bit disturbed when they got onto the highway, but it was still far less than he expected. It made him think what she had gone through in her life to be so… calm just minutes after being low-key threatened with physical violence. Not that he'd _really_ hurt her, but still… he had no way of knowing that. He shook that thought off and pulled out his phone from his pocket, searching through the contacts to find the number of his partner.

"Rome?"

The gravelly voice from the other side immediately guessed the cause for Dean's call. "Plan A failed?"

"Pretty much. I need you to pick me up at Red Rock."

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Dean felt an overwhelming sense of relief when he hung up. He knew that he could always count on Roman, but his helpfulness still made him feel much more at ease in that moment. An unexpected question brought him out of that momentary bliss.

"That guy is actually called Rome?"

"What do you think?" he smirked. The girl pursed her lips in a cute way while thinking of the answer. Now that he could take a look at her properly, he found himself thinking that she was actually pretty hot. She had a beautiful face, short messy platinum hair and a slender, toned body he would love to see in his own bed. And he liked her style. Black lace crop top, leather jacket, jeans and boots. Simple but sexy.

"Still, that's a shitty nickname."

"It's actually a shortened version of his nickname."

"That's better. Being nicknamed after the capital of Italy would be weird."

She was looking in front of herself with a hilariously indifferent expression on her face, making Dean's lips twitch upwards. This girl seemingly had very few fucks to give. She was actually chatting with him about his partner's nickname literally minutes after he put a gun to her head. It was bizarre, but in a weird way, he liked it.

"I like your jacket."

"My jacket?" Her tone was slightly surprised. "Thanks… I guess."

"You should be my partner in crime. We're twinning today."

She actually chuckled, much to Dean's amazement. "You've got some nerve."

"I suppose that's a no?"

"Of course it is."

"Too bad. You'd look good with a gun."

"I actually have one at home."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I live in a shitty neighborhood. I learned my lesson after being robbed once. The next time a guy tried to rob me, I shot him in the leg."

Dean laughed, raising his eyebrows. "Really? Nice."

"He's in jail now. And I was never robbed since that day. I guess the rumor about me shooting people spread around the neighborhood."

"You should carry a gun in the car as well. Actually—you should carry a gun with you at all times."

She pursed her lips. "Yeah, I guess I learned that lesson today."

Dean couldn't help himself. "You're welcome!"

The smug tone in which he said that was enough to set her off. "I'm not _thankful_ for your lesson, you cocky asshole. You threatened to shoot me to prove your point."

Dean's smile widened. "You're cute when you're mad."

"You're making me want to drive this car off a cliff."

"We're in Vegas, darling. Unless you wanna spend the night with me in Red Rock, there are no cliffs here."

She sighed loudly. "Just shut up, will you?"

He almost asked her if her temper was this fierce in bed too, but he bit his tongue instead, letting out a chuckle. This girl wasn't particularly afraid of him unless his gun was pointed at her, so he decided to act like a mature adult for a few minutes and stop irritating her. She deserved it for not causing him too much trouble.

"You can stop here", he said after a prolonged silence, when they got close to the Red Rock.

She raised her eyebrows. "In the middle of the road?"

"He'll know where to find me."

"Alright." She pulled over to the side of the road and he got out, but not before grinning at her and tipping his hat.

"Good girl."

That earned him a glare full of disgust. She stomped on the gas pedal and drove away without even waiting for him to close the passenger door. Dean just laughed to himself, squinting into the darkness of the night and focusing on remembering her license plate number.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This chapter is pretty short, I'm aware, but the next one should be similar in length to the first one. Enjoy!_

* * *

A cluster of shimmering rings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings fell out of the bag and softly clanked against the glass table. Roman let out a whistle of surprise before picking up a ruby necklace between his fingers. " _Nice_."

"I'll have to check the exact prices of all of this tomorrow." Dean sat at the table, scanning everything he managed to steal from the store and feeling pretty satisfied.

"Think it'll be enough?"

"For what?"

Roman's eyes were still focused on the necklace, gliding his fingers over the rubies and examining them carefully. "For you not to continue robbing stores."

"We'll see. I believe that this here should get me around two hundred grand. I wanna invest it in something smart."

"Strip clubs and booze?" Roman laughed, getting a smirk from Dean in response.

"Nah, man, I already told you that I wanna get my own place. I've been living with you for almost a year now."

"You know I don't mind. Especially because you're the best loan shark I've ever had."

Dean wrinkled his nose. "Not ' _loan shark'_. ' _Enforcer_ ' sounds better."

"Fine, _enforcer_ then."

"You're still gonna pay me if I move out, right?"

"As long as you keep doing the dirty work for me, yes."

"Good, because being a robber isn't my thing." Dean chuckled. "I prefer stealing socks and shaving cream from Wal-Mart, like a good citizen."

"Just don't get lazy", Roman warned him. "Or I'm gonna find someone else to replace you."

"I'll have to pay the bills somehow, man", Dean shrugged. "And this is the easiest way."

"Great." Roman brought the ruby necklace in his hands to Dean's eye level. "You're gonna sell this to me after you find out the price."

"Should I buy you a matching red gown?"

"It's for my wife, smartass. She likes red."

"Alright, alright." Dean smirked to himself and started spreading all the jewelry across the table. "You know how I got to Red Rock?"

"How?" Roman handed him the necklace before joining him at the table.

"A hot chick dropped me off."

A deep crease appeared between Roman's eyebrows. "How did _that_ happen?"

"It doesn't matter how it happened. What matters is that I remembered her license plate number and I'm gonna bring her a little something as a sign of gratitude when I find out where she lives."

Roman couldn't help but grimace. "Sign of gratitude? More like 'I wanna get into your panties' sign."

Dean shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, do you know any people who can do it for me? Find out who she is?"

"What would I be if I didn't know such people?" Roman asked, snickering.

"Great then." Dean pulled out his phone and scribbled a combination of numbers and letters on a piece of paper, handing it to Roman. "They'll need this."

Roman nodded, yawning. "I'll give them a call before I go to bed. They'll probably send me the info by the morning."

Dean gave him thumbs up before he walked out of the dining room, leaving Dean alone with the jewelry.

He didn't know a whole lot about the way those things were priced, but he was certain that there had to be some information on the Internet. Besides, he knew that the place he got the jewelry from was known to be a luxury store, so he expected four- or five-figure numbers. He typed the store's name on his phone and checked for the most expensive pieces on its website. Roman's ruby necklace was worth nearly $10,000, but there were even pricier things on the table than that one. He soon found out that the bulky diamond necklace on the right edge of the table was priced at $65,000. The more time he spent exploring the page, the more he was blown away. The _least_ expensive piece he stole was worth $600.

He couldn't help the anxiety kicking in after becoming aware of those numbers. He usually prided himself for being a laid-back, calm person, but this was too much for him to swallow in that moment. He quickly got on his feet, pushed his phone into the pocket of his jeans and collected all jewelry back in the bag, the sudden paranoia making him overridden with adrenaline once again. Sleeping with a gun on his nightstand was a must for him that night.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: It's probably gonna take me a little longer to write and post the next chapter because I'm moving out of the country and as you can imagine, adjusting to that requires a lot of time, patience and work._

* * *

It was indeed a shitty neighborhood, like she said. Dean knew it as soon as Roman told him the address in the morning. He was well acquainted with that area, considering that there were lots of smaller dealers and junkies there that he had to squeeze money out of on his missions for Roman.

It was one of the jobs he did for him, in addition to driving around the city and selling drugs. They were friends since they were teenagers, and Dean was one of his most reliable and loyal "employees". But despite their strong bond, differences between the two of them existed—and were very noticeable. Roman was a calculating man with a nose for business who built his own mini-empire based on drug trade, and Dean was more of a free soul who couldn't bother with dealing with so many people and places and constantly keeping track of all of them through numerous agents. He preferred taking instructions from Roman, not make them, and stay as low-key as his job permitted him. He was the dispatcher and the enforcer, but all of his actions always led to Roman.

Also, Roman was married and had a daughter while Dean never really tied himself to somebody in a romantic way. He had no connections with any family members despite his sister, who he called from time to time. He always wanted a free reign over his life, without anything or anybody weighing him down, and that's what he had. He had no annoying bosses, no overly attached girlfriends, nothing. He was the master of his own life. And if he wanted to, he could go to the other end of the country tomorrow morning without any regrets.

Money was always there to hold everybody back, but he solved that too by stealing. Whether it was getting himself a Snickers because he craved sugar, demanding five dollars more from each junkie to pay for his gym membership without having to take from his own paycheck or robbing a jewelry store in order to buy a small apartment, he always found a solution for his financial problems. He was well aware that he was the schoolbook example of a cheap person, but that was only because he was focused on saving up money. He grew up poor and knew the value of those small green papers very well.

And this neighborhood was _dirt poor_. He even left his motorcycle on the parking lot in a slightly safer zone that was a ten-minute walk from her address just so it wouldn't get stolen while he was away from it. Hiding behind his leather jacket, a black baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses, he got into her building and took the stairs to the third floor.

 _Paquette_. That was it. He rang the bell and waited. Soon enough he heard light footsteps approaching the shabby door. He assumed that she was probably looking through the peephole, so he took his hat off to look more presentable.

The door opened just a little bit and he could see that she had a door chain inside before her very gloomy face framed by short cascades of wavy platinum hair greeted him. She wore no makeup, but her hair was less messy than the last time he saw her. She was ridiculously pretty. "How the hell did you find me?"

Dean shrugged, his eyebrows raising and giving his face an innocent look. "I have my ways."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"Rude. You can do better."

"Leave right now or I'm calling the cops", she spouted, her nostrils flaring. Dean almost seemed offended.

"Why?"

"You're a creep who is invading my privacy. I don't want you close to me."

"I'm here to thank you for giving me a ride yesterday. I really don't mean to disturb you or anything."

"Well, good, you thanked me. Now go away."

"I will, once I give you something. A gift. C'mon, I'm human too."

"I don't want your gifts. Yeah, you're a human, but you're also a stranger and I find this really weird and unsettling."

"I totally understand, but I brought you something really nice."

There was a moment of silence between them. Dean reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and showed her a glimpse of the diamond bracelet he brought her. Her eyes widened. "Holy shit." She put a hand over her mouth. "Is that real?"

"It is. White gold and diamonds. Take it to the appraiser. He'll tell you if you don't believe me."

She was speechless for a while before her expression reverted into the unfriendly, narrow-eyed one and her hazel eyes looked straight into his icy blues. "Why are you giving this to me? Why do you even care?"

"I don't like the feeling of… owing people. I wanted to somehow make up to you for the other night. Besides… you're pretty."

She didn't even seem to notice his compliment. "Give me one good reason as to why I should let you in."

"So I can give you this", he showed her the bracelet again, "without feeling like I'm handing you a baton in some sort of a race… and also to have a cup of coffee with you."

Disdain, mixed with disbelief, crept into her features. "Are you low-key asking me on a date?"

"Maybe."

"Our first encounter involved a gun against my head and you trying to steal my car. How fucking delusional do you have to be to think that I'll say yes?" She was almost hissing at him at this point.

"Alright, so what am I supposed to do in order for you to say yes?"

"A decent first impression would've been nice."

"I'll take that as a dare."

"Whatever." She closed the door in his face, but Dean just smiled to himself. He loved a good challenge and not only was she a challenge by herself, but she also _created_ challenges for him to overcome. And he had a feeling that this one would be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I finally managed to muster up a new chapter! Hope you guys like it._

* * *

In the last three years or so, Dean's hair was kept short only because of Roman. He couldn't bear the sight of his bangs falling into his eyes, or even worse, his hair touching the back of his neck. Which was ironic, considering that Roman had a luscious dark mane that was so long that he had to keep it tied into a ponytail or a bun at all times. He explained it by claiming that long hair made Dean look like a hobo, while his own made him look like a million bucks – which was pretty much true. Plus, his wife would kill him if he cut it.

Dean didn't really care whether his hair was long or short, but he was too lazy to go to hairdressers, so Roman always had to drag him to the nearest salon and pay for his haircut once he deemed his look unacceptable.

But this time he went to get a haircut all by himself. And he even paid for it. Now all he needed was get a pair of swimming trunks and he was ready.

With a little help from Roman's "agents", or better said spies, he found out some interesting things about Miss Paquette. And one of them was that she went swimming in one of the indoor pools in the city every weekend. So he decided to be there too on Saturday.

Dean vaguely remembered the last time he went swimming: it was a few years ago, and it was in Los Angeles, when Roman wasn't such a big dog in the business and he could still afford to fly to the coast and spend a day on the beach with his buddy. Nowadays, he just preferred to stay in Vegas and do business maniacally instead of enjoying the potential luxury that his money could get him. That was one of the main things Dean didn't understand about him.

"Fuck", Dean muttered when he carefully dipped one foot into the water. He decided that jumping into the pool and shocking his organism would be better instead of getting in like an old man, so he did it, immediately hating himself and the entire world. He was never a big fan of any in-water activities or sports, but even in that moment, he had to admit that he could understand why Renee liked coming there to swim and relax a bit. The building was spacious and modern, so even just being there was really pleasant.

He slicked his hair back when he dived out, thinking that now that he was clean-shaven and had short hair, it would be hard for her to recognize him. Plus, he was half-naked, and every time she saw him, he was clad in heavy, dark clothes.

After swimming around the pool for what felt like an eternity, but was only about fifteen minutes in reality, he spotted her coming out of the showers, in her little white bikini, gracefully walking towards the pool. She was sensuality, attitude and elegance all rolled up into one beautiful woman. Dean's dick lurched inside his trunks as he watched her hips sway from one side to another with each step she took. He couldn't help but want to fuck her right there, in that moment.

And then she looked at him. And she immediately stopped in her tracks. Her face went pale and her eyes widened. And Dean was pretty sure that his expression mirrored hers.

He could almost feel his heart dropping to his feet. The possibility that she would recognize him the exact second she sees him wasn't something he had thought about. He watched her in shock as she took a few more careful steps towards the pool, her eyes not leaving his face for even a moment.

"Are you fucking _stalking_ me?" her voice was low and full of anxiety.

"No… I'm not, really", Dean tried putting on his most innocent face. "I swear. I didn't expect you here."

She didn't say anything after that. She just kept looking at him with her lips tightened into a thin line. Dean started to feel uneasy – helpless, almost. He needed fresh, convincing lies, _quick_.

"I usually work out on Saturday mornings, but for some reason my favorite gym was so cramped today that I decided to go swimming instead. I couldn't have known that you would show up here."

"You found out where I live without even knowing my name, so I expect anything from you at this point." Her voice shook, which surprised him. "Why can't you just leave me alone, man?" She shot him a helpless, nearly desperate look which made his insides clench before turning her back to him and walking away.

He couldn't leave it like this. He quickly climbed out of the pool, approaching her. He suddenly started feeling like a massive asshole and it started to dawn on him how fucked up this whole thing was, but that was exactly why he needed to talk to her. "Renee… please", he touched her shoulder, but she shook it off, visibly disturbed. She wouldn't even look at him.

"Don't touch me."

He immediately withdrew his hand. "Sorry, I…" He was at a loss for words for a moment. "Just… please, listen to me. I know that you think that I'm some creepy stalker, and you definitely have reasons to believe so. But you also have to know that I started looking for you only because I thought that you were really interesting, even at the very beginning. I'm just now realizing that I've been fucking up everything. I took you for a challenge and made no effort in understanding how you've been feeling in this whole thing because I was too busy justifying my own actions… shitty actions. So… I'm really sorry for everything."

It took her a moment to respond after hearing Dean's monologue. "I don't deserve this shit and I'd love to tell you to fuck off, but I feel like you're being honest for the first time since we met."

"I am", he immediately confirmed. "This time for real."

She shook her head. "It's just that… this is all very confusing. I'm not even sure if I actually _know_ when when you're telling the truth and when you're lying. And I don't want to risk anything."

"I'll tell you nothing but truth from now on, I promise."

"From now on?"

"Well, I'd love to have a dinner with you." He smiled a bit, hoping for the best. She sighed.

"What's your name?"

He was slightly put off by her ignoring his proposal, but he didn't want to insist on anything. "Dean." Then he remembered. "Well, actually, Jonathan, but almost everybody calls me Dean. But you can call me Jon, or whatever you want."

"Okay, Jon… I'll give you one chance. And if you blow it, you will disappear from my life. Completely. Is that clear?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, ma'am. So… tonight at eight?"

That cracked a small smirk from her. "Pick me up at my place."

"I will." He could swear she glanced at his abs before heading back to the pool.

He never felt as relieved as in that moment.


End file.
